The Family name Dorgelo

The Genealogical History of the Family
Dorgelo
Original Dutch Authors: Alex. Dorgelo, Deventer; Alex. Dorgelo, Bussum; Dr.Jan Derk Dorgelo,
Oestgeest (1973)
Translation to English: (2003) Hans Dorgelo
Preface ....................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction................................................................................................................. 3
The Family name Dorgelo .......................................................................................... 5
Chapter II - From Middle Ages To Church Reformation ............................................. 7
Chapter lll. The Roman - Catholic Branch ............................................................ 10
Chapter lV. The Evangelic Branch.......................................................................... 13
Chapter V. The Dorgelo’s in The Netherlands .......................................................... 16
a. Branch to Grafhorst - Kampen ...................................................................... 16
b. Branch at Dalfsen, Borne and Zwolle............................................................... 18
c. Branch at Ancum and Heemse ......................................................................... 18
d. Branch at Ancum.............................................................................................. 20
e. Branch via Raalte to Dedemsvaart.................................................................... 20
f. Branch via Raalte to Haaksbergen .................................................................... 23
g. Branch to Heino ............................................................................................... 24
Summary .................................................................................................................. 26
Preface
The following on-line text is a translation into English, by the undersigned, of the existing Dutch text
‘De Genealogische Geschiedenis van de Familie Dorgelo’. I received this manuscript from my brother
in Holland who is one of its three authors. The text describes the origin of namesakes carrying the
family name Dorgelo which goes back to the feudal times of the Middle Ages (Dethard von Doringelo,
1381). The text also describes those Dorgelo’s who turned Protestant after the Reformation (Luther,
1483-1546) and who subsequently moved to The Netherlands, after 1679.
It is hoped that this translated text may be useful to those namesakes in other parts of the world who
no longer speak Dutch. They may wish to add their names and those of their offspring to the ‘Register
of the Families Dorgelo’ which is appended to this manuscript. In that way the work of the original
authors will bear fruit for generations to come.
In order to facilitate the understanding of feudal terminology used in the text, a short overview of old
feudal terms follows (copied from Webster’s New World Dictionary). Feud (fief): (‘payment’ in form of)
heritable land ‘held’ from a lord in return for service; Feudalism: a medieval system in which land,
worked by serfs ‘attached’ to it, was held by feudal tenants (or vassals) in exchange for military duty
given to their feudal lord; Serf: a person in feudal servitude, a slave bound to his master’s estate and
transferred with it to a new owner; Lord: a person with great power, owner and head of the feudal
estate (consisting of several farms); Fealty: duty, loyalty owed by the vassal to his lord.
[Occassional clarifications in the text by me appear in square-angled brackets].
Hans Dorgelo, MD, FRCP, Tsawwassen, B.C., Canada - summer, 2003
Introduction
The family name Dorgelo is not very prevalent in the Netherlands. The Commission for the Study of
Names, of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Amsterdam, has started a detailed and very time
consuming investigation into the number of carriers of all existing family names in our country, based
on data from the national census in l947. These numbers were published in the ‘Dutch Repertoire of
Family Names’ for each municipality. Up until now (July 1972) six volumes have appeared in print
covering the provinces Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe, Overijsel, Gelderland, Utrecht and Zeeland as
well as the city of Amsterdam. In 1947 a total of 270 people carried the name Dorgelo in these parts of
Holland. This number includes two names which were most likely spelled erroneously at the time of
the census or earlier. This occurred in the city of Zwolle, once with the spelling Dorgalo and once
Dorgerlo. De family name Dorgeloos occurred (15 times) in four municipalities within Groningen and in
Warnsveld and is, in my view, most likely an older corrupted form. I have considered this as a
separate family name and did not include it. A direct relation to the family name Dorgelo has not been
proven.
It is quite clear from the number of Dorgelo’s per province that [the province of] Overijssel, with168
namesakes, is the area with the largest concentration followed by Drenthe and Gelderland with resp.
42 and 20 namesakes. Within Overijssel, the most concentrated area’s are [the towns of] Kampen (45)
and Hardenberg (37); whithin Drenthe [the town of] Schoonebeek (21).
It should then cause no surprise that, before the Second World War [1939-’45], Alexander Dorgelo [of
Deventer, in Overijsel] started to investigate the genealogical connection between the Dorgelo’s. He
collected many data from - among others - baptism-, marriage- and death records; from the Dutch
Protestant parish (kept in the National Archives for Overijssel at Zwolle); from the civil registry offices
in a number of municipalities; as well as from the literature. He also found some particulars in the
archives at Bremen [in NWGermany] and elsewhere in the northwest of Lower Saxony [also in NW
Germany] - after he had established that the family name had come from Bremen in the 17th century.
Since 1952 he had been in touch with Alexander Dorgelo, architect at Bussum. This namesake
continued the work in a systematic way for over 20 years on the basis of the findings noted above as
well as those obtained from his late father, Rev. Herman Dorgelo and his uncle, Prof. Hendrik
Dorgelo. Finally, he put together the genealogical register and family tree which are attached hereto.
A few years before his death in 1963 I received, from my uncle at Deventer, all the documentations,
correspondence and other data which he had in his possession. Subsequently, this writer together
with Alexander Dorgelo [of Bussum] decided to combine all these into a genealogical history of the
Dorgelo family. Prior to this, frequent visits to German archives became necessary to collect as many
particulars as possible in connection with our origin in Germany.
In the succeeding paragraphs we have first tried to clarify the meaning of the family-name Dorgelo [in
chapter one]. Since the oldest written sources concern the German Dorgelo’s we paid special
attention, in chapter lI, to the von Dorgelo family belonging to the landed Nobility [‘landed’ implies:
owning land] from the 14th century til the Reformation. The latter caused a split resulting in a noble
(titled) [having a title] branch remaining Roman Catholic and a. civil [untitled] Protestant branch. Both
of these are described in separate chapters [III and IV]. Lastly, chapter V contains a detailed
explanation of the genealogy of the Dorgelo’s in the Netherlands in which one can discern seven
branches on the basis of (former) points of concentration in [the Dutch province] Overijsel.
At this point I would very much like to thank all namesakes and relatives who made the printing and
the publication possible through their interest and financial contributions. In particular a word of thanks
to Alexander Dorgelo in Gouda who was so generous to take care of the printing of the [Dutch] text. In
this way you, the reader, have in front of you a product to which many namesakes have contributed.
Oestgeest [Holland], June 1973
Dr. J.D. Dorgelo
The Family name Dorgelo
When one tries to clarify the origin and the meaning of the family name Dorgelo one is justified to
connect the name ‘Dorgelo’ with the many place names, in the eastern Netherlands and
N.W.Germany, that end with -lo, -loo, or -loh. Toponymically, these endings mean ‘wood’ [or clearing
in the woods, ‘glade’].
Slicher van Bath[1] has explained that a place-name ending with -lo originated in the earliest settlement
periods, dating back to before the year 600. Villages and hamlets with these names can be found in
early settlement areas that show a good number of archeological discoveries. These regions consist of
higher, diluvial sandy soils intersected by little rivers and creeks, as is the case in [the province of]
Drenthe, the area of Twenthe, the county of Zutphen [all in eastern Holland], as well as in Lower
Saxony and Westphalia in the present German Bundes Republik. Depending on the geographical
circumstances, the first inhabitants settled on separate farms or in villages. The arable land was near
to their homes, on the higher sandy soil, on the camps or ‘essen’, while the grass-lands were situated
along the small rivers in a natural way. In a historic-ethnographic sense, the -lo names are of Saxon
origin.
As will be shown below, the family name Dorgelo - in the past also spelled as Dorgeloe and Doringelo
- is derived from the place name with the present spelling of Dorrieloh. A further description of this
village is certainly in order here.[2] The village Dorrieloh is about 5km [3M] southwest of the parish
Varrel in the county Diepholz which is part of Lower Saxony in the Bundes [Federal] Republik of
Germany. This village is not far from Bundes strasse [street] 32, from Sulingen to Diepholz. One turns
off this road at Wehrbeck, direction Varrel. There is a station Dorrieloh on the railroad Bassum-Herfold,
32 km [20M] from Bassum.
Dorrieloh belongs to the rural municipality of the same name which also includes the villages of
Brummerloh and Renzel. The municipality totals an area of 2211 hectares [nearly 5.500 acres]. The
village Dorrieloh has an elementary school and, in 1896, consisted of 56 homes with 327 inhabitants.
This number fluctuated little over the last 150 years: from 423 in 1821 to 588 by 1928 and 570 in 1960.
In the past the village had a windmill and two large farms which the feudal tenants represented in the
‘Landtag’ [diet] of the county. The history of the family Dorgelo begins at these farms, to which we will
come back later -- see chapter ll.
According to German sources,[3] Dorrieloh was the seat of the noble family which derived its name
from the village name and of which, since 1381, many family members appear in the archives. The
name of the village is supposedly derived from the first name Dorrie and consequently meaning:
‘wood-crop’ of Dorrie. Today the family name, spelled as Dorgerloh, appears frequently in the county
of Hoya (south of Bremen).
The name spelled as ‘Dorgelo’ is not only known in The Netherlands but also in the county of Vechta,
south of Oldenburg [in N.W.Germany]. The name of the noble family Von Dorgelo, also appearing in
different spelling, has spread since the Middle Ages from the village Dorrieloh across the entire area of
Lower Saxony and Westfalen and can be found, among others, in the former principality of Osnabruck;
in the land of Oldenburg; in East-Friesland and in Munsterland. In the following it will be shown, with
near certainty, that these families belong to one genealogical family.[4]
[In times past, the German preposition ‘Von’ (‘Von’ meaning: ‘from’), or ‘Van’ in Dutch, was used to
indicate the exclusive social position of noble families in those days, i.e. living in castles or large
farmsteads – and owning all the surrounding land ‘worked by serf-farmers attached to it and
transferred with it to a new owner’. No wonder that the farmers near Dorrieloh used to refer to such a
person as ‘my Lord Von Dorrieloh’, meaning: ‘of the castle Dorrieloh’.]
Figure 1 - Map of NorthWest Germany (Town of Dorrieloh in Center)
[1]
B. Slicher van Bath, Nederzettingen in Graafschap Zutphen, in: Herschreven Historie pg 121, 130,
131.
[2]
Data provided by the municipal authorities of Dorrieloh.
C.H. Nieberding, Oldenburgisch – Munsterliche Geschlechtsbeschreibung
[4]
Gustav Nutzhorn gives a detailed description of the Von Dorgelo’s in his article “ Zur Geschichte der
Familie von Dorgelo” [About the History of the Family von Dorgelo] in: Oldenburgische Familienkunde
vol.11, nr.2, June 1969. There are also commentaries on this in the same journal, vol. 12, nr.4,
Dec.1970 and vol.13, nr.2, April ‘71.
[3]
Chapter II - From Middle Ages To Church Reformation
As far as is known, Dethard von Doringelo (1381) is the first member of the noble family, referred to in
the previous chapter, which is mentioned in the written records. In 1391 Otto von Doringelo was
Sheriff of Vorden. It is possible that he was a brother of Dethard. In 1393 Otto is mentioned as Sheriff
in the service of the governments of Munsterland, Cloppenburg and Friesoyte.[1] In this function he built
a castle on a small island in the Lethe, the river between Munsterland and Oldenburg. The von
Dorgelo’s lived in this castle until about 1600.
Several members of the branch Von Dorgelo-on-the-Lethe became, through marriage, occupants
and/or owners of other properties, as in the district of Furstenau (part of the former principality of
Osnabruck); the castle Loxten near Northrup; the estate Twistel; and the estate Schleppenburg.[2]
From 1415-1421 Otto was Sheriff of Vechta, situated presently in the southern part of the land of
Oldenburg. He married Richarda von Pennethe. From this marriage a son is known as Johann von
Dorgelo (1415 + 1446).
A Sheriff was a civil servant who represented the feudal lord in a certain section of his territory. He
was mainly responsible for collecting taxes and services due the lord and for administering justice in
the [lord’s] district.
In 1461 there is, once again, an Otto von Dorgelo, Sheriff of Cloppenburg and owner of Lethe,
possibly a son of Johan. Otto was at the same time the feudal tenant of both farms in the village of
Dorrieloh, mentioned in the previous chapter. These still exist today as farms nr.19 and 20. At least
one of these farms was a lease from the bishop of Minden, as is evident from the original lease paper
of 1474 which I found in the house-archives of farm nr. 20. In this paper Heinrich, bishop of Minden,
leases to Otto von Dorringelo the Sattlehof [sattle is saddle; hof is farmstead, see next page] at
Dorringelo and with that all that belongs to and depends on the farm. It was a hereditary tenant’s
lease. For these belongings he will be very gracious to the diocese. The German text reads:
With the grace of God, We Hinrich, Bishop of Minden, notify, make known and publicly announce in
this letter, for us and our successors, that we with hand and mouth, which God on High has granted
us, lease herewith through the power of this letter to Otto von Dorringelo the Sattlehof at Dorringelo
together with everything that belongs to the farmstead, as is given in lease by us into the straight
heriditairy line of lease and we grant and will that he with his inheritance will be a merciful gentleman
to the court, always when and where such is necessary and is requested by us, and have caused our
legal seal to be hung onto this letter until further notice hereof -- Given after God’s birth thousand four
hundred and seventy fourth year on Monday morning April 25 (the day is unclear, J.D.D.).
A feudal tenant or vassal did not pay any rent for the feudal estate. He did, however, have to swear
allegiance [‘fealty’] to the feudal lord and was obliged to serve as soldier in any war. Originally, the
lease would revert to the feudal lord when the feudal tenant died. In later times such a lease would be
inherited, in the male line, and slowly become the property of the feudal tenant. He would often not
manage the feudal estate himself but assign that to someone else, a farmer, who would be obliged to
deliver part of the proceeds to him in the form of rent. It is important to understand that the name
Sattelhof [literally translated: farmstead with saddled horses – note other reference in Chapter 4],
common in many villages during the Middle Ages, stands for a privileged farm which had the
characteristic of being ‘noble’ or ‘free’ property The difference from regular farms was a public, judicial
matter in that an ordinairy farm had to pay taxes, not the Sattelhof. The German name Sattelhof is
likely derived from the fact that, in earlier times, these farms were obliged to provide the feudal lord
with saddled horses and riders. The feudal tenant at a Sattelhof was also obliged to collect, for the
lord, the rent from the serf-farmers who lived in farms belonging to the Sattlehof.
Towards the end of the 15th century there was yet again a Doringelo, Herbert von Doringelo, son of
Otto, who was Sheriff at Cloppenburg. His name appears repeatedly in the archives of Oldenburg in
sections from 1494 and 1497. In 1510 his son, Otto von Doringelo, became feudal tenant of the
Sattelhof at Dorrieloh, as is evident from a second original lease letter from the hand of Franciscus,
administrator of the archdiocese of Minden, duke of Brunswijk and Luneburg. In 1511 Otto acquired
the country-estate Brettberg through his marriage with Elske von Elmendorpe of Hammeland. This
estate is situated a short distance from and south of the little town Lohne which, in turn, lies south of
Vechta. The Von Dorgelo’s would reside at Brettberg for more than two centuries, until 1776. We shall,
therefore, take a closer look at this estate and its inhabitants.[3]
The estate Brettberg arose from two farms, Brettberg and Steengraven. The castle Brettberg was
most likely built around 1400 by Hermann von Elmendorpe. The owner of the farm, Gotteke von
Brettberge, was his tenant. His son Wille von Elmendorpe was still tenant of the castle at Vechta in
1446. Wille’s son Hermann had six sons. One of them, who also carried the name Wille, acquired
the castle Brettberg after the death of his parents in 1479. However, by 1490 Wille died and his
wife died in 1528. She had three daughters. One of them, Elske, married Otto von Doringelo, son of
the Sheriff of Cloppenburg and owner of the estate Lethe. Otto obtained possession of Brettberg
because his brother-in-law, Dietrich von Dinklage, who was married to the oldest daughter Von
Elmendorpe, had left no children when he died in 1511. It was through Otto, and in particular through
his son Johann von Dorgelo, that still more serf farms were acquired. Johann took a strong and tough
stand in regards to the serf farmers, in accord with the customs of that time. He ordered the serf
farmer Cord Stegemann, who had resisted him, to be locked up in the dog kennel until he promised to
behave better. Johann was married to Anna von Weddesche from the Bomhof estate near
Langforden, region Vechta. In 1531 Johan sold the estate Bomhof to his brother-in-law Andreas
Quernheim for 1,000 gold guilders. When Von Quernheim was unable to pay in cash, he assigned the
tithes to his brother-in-law Johann at Aschen and Ossenbeck in the earldom of Diepholz. Johann had
two brothers, Wulfert and Otto. Through marriage Wulfert obtained the estate Welpe.. After him there
were four more generations among who a Diederich (1554). This branch expired in 1666 with a
Wulfert when several of his children had died at young age. One son, Johann Wolfgang, had a church
function at Osnabruck. In 1621 Wulfert’s brother, Johann Otto, was the canon in the same town.[4]
After the death of his father Otto von Dorgelo of Brettberg, Johann succeeded him as feudal tenant of
the Sattlehof at Dorrieloh, including all of its belongings.This is evident from the original lease letter of
1536 drawn up by Franciscus, curator at Munster and Osnabruck and administrator of Minden. This
letter is also present in the house-archives of the earlier mentioned farm in Dorrieloh.
In 1542 Johann concluded a marriage agreement with Korff, called Schmissing von Tatenhausen, for
his under-aged son Otto von Dorgelo and Else Korff. On October 8, 1542 he made his last testament
and died soon after. He was solemnly buried at Lohne. He was survived by his son and a daughter
who remained a spinster. He also had two children out of wedlock. In his testament he requested his
wife, Anna von Weddesche, to look after these children. After Johann’s death, his widow Anna
managed the estate Brettberg for her underage children. In 1543 Bishop Franz of Munster granted
her, “as a very respectful favor” the chapel, called ‘Kluse’ and consecrated to the holy Anna, with
surrounding property at Sudlohne. This chapel was famous for its miracle spring water which is said to
have caused miraculous healing of eye conditions since the Middle Ages. Anna’s son Otto took
possession of the estate in 1551. She herself moved in to a castle at Vechta together with her
daughter.
In the same year Otto married his fiancee Elske von Korff-Schmissing at the Tatenhausen estate.
Initially he lived his life in a squandering fashion. He had 14 servants. This he could not keep up for
long. Thereupon he started to keep accurate records of income and expenses. Otto died in 1584.
Some 20 carriages followed him to his last resting place. In the church of Lohne he received a
tombstone. According to some sources - quoted in the family book of the Gellhaus family who are the
present owners of Brettberg - Otto sold the family-estate ‘Engelken Sadelhof’ at Dorrieloh to Christof
von Brambardt in 1580. However, this must have occurred earlier because of statements noted in an
original lease-document found in the earlier mentioned family-archives at Dorrieloh. In that document a
certain Herman acknowledges, in the name of the bishop of Minden, that the late Johann von Dorgelo
had on loan an estate at Dorrieloh which had been in the possessin of the late Christoph von
Brambardt. After the death of the last named, this reverted back to the bishop who, in turn, passed it
on to his son Johann von Brambardt in the form of a tenant’s lease. In the former burnt-out church at
Varrel there used to be a tombstone which mentioned the death of Christoffer Brambardt on Sunday
January 12, 1578 at noon. Therefore, our conclusion must be that Otto von Dorgelo sold the familyestate at Dorrieloh in or before 1578, probably because of want of money.
In chapter III we will return to the remaining history of the Von Dorgelo branch which remained
Roman-Catholic. The Evangelic [Protestant] branch [see chapter IV], from which the Dutch Dorgelo’s
descend, originated most likely from this family-estate in Dorrieloh as well. One can assume that this
estate, until it was sold to the family Von Brambardt, was occupied by family members of the feudal
tenants Von Dorgelo, e.g. by Diederich, who is named in 1554 as nephew of the last tenant Otto.[5]
Already in 1528 did the county Diepholz, in which Dorrieloh is situated, become Protestant. After the
sale of the family estate, before 1578, the Evangelic family Dorgelo had to seek a safe haven
elsewhere. They found such a haven at a farm on the Weserdyk in the hamlet of Dreye, municipality
Kirchweyhe, south of Bremen.
The contact with Dreye from Dorrieloh arose most likely through mediation by the family Von Weyhe.
Already before 1575, they were in possession of a second Sattlehof in Dorrieloh (presently house
number 19). In 1575 Count Otto of Hoya made out a ‘freedom-letter’ [a certificate of release] regarding
this estate in favor of the family Von Weyhe.[6] The estate of this family, first mentioned in 1189, was
situated in the present municipality of Kirchweyhe. It seems rational to assume that the Protestant
official Johann Dorgelohe at Dreye, first mentioned in 1585, hailed from the Sattlehof nr.20 at
Dorrieloh (at present occupied by the farmer’s family Goteker). The former Director of the National
Archives at Bremen, Mr. Fr. Pruser, is also of the opinion that it is justified to make a genealogical
connection, in the manner referred to above, between the Roman-Catholic branch of the Von
Dorgelo’s and the Evangelical [Protestant] branch.
[1]
Nieberding ll, pg. 879
R. von Bruch, Die Rittersitze des Furstentums Osnabruck, Osnabruck 1930, p.347,351,352 and 361
[3]
Copied from: Nieberding ll , pg.298 and on.
[4]
M. von Spiessen, Genealogische Sammlung, Bd.10, Staatsarchief Munster. Diederich is also
mentioned by Nutzhorn (see note 4) as member of the branch Von Doreelo at Welpe.
[5]
See footnote [8] on previous page
[6]
Landschaftliche Matrikular-Akten Hoya
[2]
Chapter lll. The Roman - Catholic Branch
[Roman: Western Catholic Church as distinguished from Eastern or Greek-Catholic Church]
After the death of Otto von Dorgelo in 1584, the Brettberg castle came into the possession of his
widow until her son Rotger took control of it in 1599. His mother moved into a private home
(Witwensitz) in Vechta. She died in 1605 and was buried next to her husband under the same
tombstone below the lime tree at the church cemetery in Lohne. She had three daughters and seven
sons[1] of whom three sons and one daughter died at a young age. The oldest son Johann studied
theology and received a canon’s annuity from the joint church wealth at Osnabruck. In 1594 he
renounced his heritage in favor of his youngest brother Rotger, then married Mette Nagel von
Konigsbruck in 1595 and died on May 1, 1597. His young widow had a tombstone made for him at the
church in Vechta which is still there today.
In 1583, the second son, Otto, traveled on horse to Rome to finish his studies. In 1584 he became
canon at the St Johannes Parish in Osnabruck and, later, at Wildeshausen. Thereafter he became
dean of the cathedral in Osnabruck and Munster. He received a large income which he used for
charitable purposes, his family and the church in Lohne. In 1624, one year before he died, he had an
epitaph installed at the cathedral in Munster (See figure 1) for 550 rixdollar [rix means realm or state].
This beautiful sculptured memorial is now located in the western transept of the St Paul’s cathedral at
Munster, against the first pillar of the mid-nave on the right. It was somewhat damaged on its left side
during the Second World War. Previously it had been assumed that the epitaph had been made by the
sculptor Gerhard Groninger. It appeared later that it had been made by Melichior Kribbe of Munster.
The third son, Heinrich, a scholar as well, became canon of the Stephanus- and Wilhads
Parish at Bremen. The youngest and fourth son, Rotger, married in 1598 Catharina von Monnich of
the estate Eikhof. He took possession of the Brettberg estate in 1599. His wife brought along 3000
Taler and a trousseau as dowry. In 1599 Andreas von Quernheim bequeathed him the estate Bomhof.
Rotger died in 1613. His widow had a monument erected for him in the choir section of the Lohner
church. She died in 1642. In 1627 she had already transferred the country estate to her son Johann.
This son lived at Brettberg, together with his brother Heinrich and his sister Dorothea. He dedicated
himself to the science of agriculture.
At that time some 35 serf farms and 8 tithes belonged to the estate Brettberg while 23 serfs and 3
tithes belonged to Bomhof. [A tithe was one tenth of the annual produce of one’s land]. As well,
Johann owned the farmstead and the windmill at Vechta and woods near Norddollen. From the tithes
and from the serf farms he received a year’s income of 144 malter rye [1 malter equals roughly 216 kg
or 475 lbs], 7 malter barley, 115 oats, 24 pigs, 7 sheep, 7 piglets, 91 geese, 133 chicken, 175 kg [385
lbs] butter, 1920 eggs, 5 car loads of firewood and, on top of all that, a decent sum of cash as lease.
The housekeeping was carried out by six male and seven female servants as well as a home teacher.
Provisions for [times of] fasting over a period of one year consisted of 200 kg of hake [stockfish], 1/2
ton [1,120 lbs] herring, 1/4 ton smoked herring, cheese, etc. Everything was shipped from Bremen.
Every year on Good Friday Johann gave to the poor of Lohne 24 herrings, at Pentecost 6 Reichstaler
[‘Reich’ used to stand for (German) empire; ‘taler’ is akin to dollar]; at Christmas 6 Reichstaler and 24
sausages. As well, he gave them one loaf of bread every Friday. The expensive household would
have been paid easily from the large income were it not for the fact that the Thirty Year’s War [16181648] had started in the meantime. This resulted in the billeting of German and Swedish troops (the
latter had set up a small hospital at Brettberg) and involved a great deal of costs. Quite often the lease
and tithes could not be collected, the seeding of the land not carried out nor the crops harvested.
Because of this, Johann had to sell the Bomhof estate and the windmill together with the house at
Vechten, 10 serf farms, some woods, a piece of land and a pasture. For this he received 8,000
Reichstaler, yet he was still left with an equal amount in debts.
In 1640 Johann married a woman of the middle class who was the daughter of the mayor Johann von
Dissen. She died in 1676 and her husband on November 25 of the same year. They had three
children: 1. Friedrich who became the first heir; 2. Johann Rotger whose inheritance was bought off for
4,700 Reichstaler. Through marriage, at about 1678, he became lord of the estate Hoven near
Wardenburg (he is well known in Germany for his knight sagas); 3. Sabina who received a dowry of
2,500 Reichstaler and 1/3 of the silver. She married Borchard von Wrede on Sorpe. In 1668 Friedrich
married Maria Catharina von Voss zu Enniger, the daughter of his father’s sister. On May 1, 1671 his
parents conveyed the estate to him but continued living at Brettberg. He himself took over a debt of
9.200 Reichstaler while his wife brought with her 4,950 Taler as dowry. In 1680 he had the chapel ‘the
Kluse’ restored which had been ruined in the war. And in 1689 he rebuilt the farmstead at Vechta
which had been destroyed by fire 5 years earlier. In 1698 he had a new pulpit built in Munster for 165
Reichstaler. This he donated to the monastic church in Vechta. Friedrich’s wife died on May 5, 1699.
His cook, Margret Knost, bore him a daughter on April 10, 1700. On July 1 he married her in all
quietness at Steinfeld (south of Lohne). She died in 1732. He took his daughter, at age 9, to a convent
in Osnabruck where she became a nun. It is possible that from Friederich’s second marriage one or
more sons were born who remained in Steinfield and who were the ancestors of the Dorgelo’s (without
‘von’) still living there today - like the shoe store owner Dorgelo.
Because Friederich von Dorgelo couldn’t get along well with his daughter-in-law and her mother, he
turned all his possessions over to his son Franz Anton von Dorgelo on May 1, 1706 and moved to the
farmstead at Vechta. Friedrich made his Last Will on June 2, 1718. He died two years later on April 18,
1720 and was solemnly buried at Lohne. In the entrance hall of the Catholic Church at Lohne one can
still find two large tomb stones. One of these has a cross; the coat of arms of Dorgelo and Enniger;
and the dates of birth, marriage and death of Friederich and his first wife. The second stone carries the
portraits of the married couple with four coats of arms among which Dorgelo.
Friederich had ten children from his first marriage of who four died at a young age. His youngest son
Franz Anton von Dorgelo married Margrethe Esther von Ledebur in 1706, following which his father
turned his possessions over to him together with a debt of 15,124 Reichstaler. Franz Anton’s wife died
in 1726. On June 12, 1731 he married his cousin Catharina von Elmendorf of the estate Fuchtel. In
1742 he passed his possessions over to his son. He died in 1754. He had four children by his first
wife; seven other children had died at a young age.
In 1742 Franz Anton’s son Andreas Anton Diederick took over the possessions together with 22,355
Reichstaler in debts. On April 14, 1746 he married Henriette Charlotte von Scheele of the house
Hudenbeck. He died on Juli 12, 1760 and his wife on October 1, 1765. They had two children. Their
daughter died at a young age. The son, Anton Heinrich Bernhard, married Ernestine Alexandrine von
Haen of the estate Opherdicke, on July 4, 1771. He took over the possessions together with a debt of
22,372 Reichstaler and he died from tuberculosis on July 16, 1776. With him this generation became
extinct.
After this, disputes over inheritance followed while debts increased and assets decreased. In 1795 a
female family member by the name Von Dinklage married Von Falkenstein, lieutenant of the
Grenadiers. After the death of this married couple, in 1835, the burgeoning financial difficulties led to
the sale of the estate Brettberg, for 28,000 Reichstaler, to the merchant Russel of Haselunne. The
remainder of the estate was bought by a Mr.Gellhaus in 1884. This family still owns it today [1973].
The present house Brettberg, which is worth a visit, still carries the coat of arms of the family Von
Dorgelo. This branch of the family von Dorgelo belonged to the richest of the noble families in the
former hamlet Munster. The reason that we are so well informed about this is thanks to the earlier
mentioned historian K.H.Nieberding. He did not only administer the estate Brettberg for a long period
but also researched and published about the Brettberg archives.
This Roman Catholic branch of the family Dorgelo has a side-branch which is noteworthy in
connection with tangible memorabilia left behind in Germany. This side-branch begins with the earlier
mentioned Johann Rotger von Dorgelo, brother of Friederich, Lord of Brettberg from 1671-1706. In
1678, through marriage with Auguste von Rhaeden, Johann Rotger became Lord Von Hoven at
Hofen, an estate near Wardenburg, south of Oldenburg. In the Evangelical church at Wardenburg
there is a memorial plaque with the coat of arms of the Von Dorgelo’s, in memory of one of his sons
Otto Caspar Dietrich Von Dorgelo (1692 - 1719). One of his descendants, Adam Levin von Dorgelo
(1733 - 1827), Lord of Hoven, was marshal at the court in Oldenburg. He was succeeded as Lord of
Hoven by his cousin August Wilhelm Anton (1762 - 1855), major in the Prussian Army and minister in
the government of the grand duchy Oldenburg. Originally, both were buried in a family grave across
the road along Hoven. However, they are now at the burial site of the Evangelical church at
Wardenburg. The care of this graveside is still [at the time of this writing] being financed regularly by a
major Von Dorgelo at Verden on the [river] Aller. In 1855, A.W.A. von Dorgelo died childless and left
Hoven to Ludwig Freiherr of Lutzow, the son of his niece, with the condition that he would adopt the
soon to become extinct name Dorgelo. However, he sold Hoven in 1864 following which the estate
was once more sold piece by piece. Before the First World War the house still carried the family coat
of arms. Present [1973] occupants are a farmer’s family by the name of Addicks.
Although it appears that distant relatives are still alive, this side arm of the Roman Catholic branch
seems to have died out in 1855.[2] In the National Museum at Oldenburg there is a monumental stove
and some other inventory pieces which formerly belonged to the family Von Dorgelo but were bought
by the family Addicks in1908.
As to the Family Coat of Arms of those Dorgelo families who remained Roman Catholic through the
Middle Ages and after the16th century, one finds varying executions thereof in different sources. [In
the design] there is, however, always evidence of two ripped-out, and truncated tree stumps in black
(with visible roots), each with two (or three) cut-off branches on opposite sides. On the basis of my
observations from various depictions I prefer [the design of] four times two branches. According to the
description in the ‘Stammbuch’ [book of genealogical registry] of Dorothea von Dorgelo[3] the shield is
made of gold (yellow) covered by a pot- or tub-shaped helmet of light blue and white, with a helmet
cloth and a wreath of black and gold. On the helmet one finds again two truncated branches (as
described but without roots) which slope outwards [in a V-shape]. According to the above mentioned
‘Stammbuch’, the Coat of Arms is of early or old-Gothic style (13th to 14th century).
[1]
According to Von Spiessen: fifteen children
Genealogical data of family Von Dorgelo, Hoven, obtained from church archives, Wardenburg
[3]
Quoted by M. von Spiessen, Wappenbuch des Westfalischen Adels [register of coats of arms of the
nobility in Westfalen], part ll, table 100, Gorlitz 1901-1903, State Archives Munster
[2]
Chapter lV. The Evangelic Branch
[Evangelic: “According to the Gospels”. This is the Protestant Branch].
It was mentioned earlier that the family name Dorgeloh still appears quite regularly in the county of
Hoye, south of Bremen. We also observed how, in all likelihood, a Dorgelo from the hamlet Dorrieloh
departed in1578 to the region south of Bremen, namely the present municipality of Kirchweyhe [‘kirch’
means church]. Since it is known with certainty that the Dutch Dorgelo’s descent directly from this
Dorgelo of Dreye (municipality Kirchweyhe) we shall describe this latter municipality in more detail, in
order to investigate the afore-mentioned genealogical connection.
The church-village of Kirchweyhe is situated about 10 km southeast of Bremen and close to where the
freeway crosses the river Weser. This village, together with the smaller places Dreye (on the Weser)
and Lahausen, are part of the municipality Kirchweyhe, which belongs to the county Hoya. There is a
railroad station at Kirchweyhe along the railroad Bassum-Bremen. In 1934 the municipality counted a
total of 3,630 inhabitants; in 1941: 4,076; and in 1959: 6,596. In 1773 the village of Dreye consisted of
19 houses. By 1895 this number had risen to 45 with a total of 325 inhabitants. By 1960 there were
100 houses with 735 inhabitants.[1] The name Kirchweyhe derives from Weyhe which is first mentioned
in a declaration of 1063. The village arose along the edge of the higher sandy grounds near the Weser
river basin. A search of the charter indicates a church-connected origin of the old Saksen period in that
weyhe - wege - weige - Weynethe - Wedeme mean “geweihter Ort” or sacred place. The name of the
little village Dreye is derived from “Drehung”, a curve in the Weser. There used to be a tollbooth for
ships on a former island in that curve of the river.
The earlier mentioned relationship of the old-noble family Von Weyhe with the second farmstead at
Dorrieloh, in the county of Diepholz (a distance of about 50km in southern direction) was not the only
one. There was also, in the second half of the 16th century, a Tonjes von Weyhe, who was Sheriff for
the county Diepholz. Close connections have existed for a long time between Weyhe and Bremen. In
the Middele Ages, the archbishopric [diocese] Bremen at Weyhe owned a free ‘Sattelhof’ [a farmstead
with saddled horses] with a ‘Meier’ as trustee. This Meier was in the first place the official representing
the vassal [feudal tenant] who often did not administer his fief [heritable land held from a lord] himself.
The Meier collected the lease in cash from the serf farmers in the name of the vassal. Later he would
become more of a leaseholder of the Meierhof while the feudal tenant took on the function of owner. It
would appear from various sources during the 14th century that the church of Bremen had many
possessions in Weyhe. As well, in that era a fair number of citizens of Bremen came from the county
Hoye, thus from Weye and surroundings. This region, however, has also had many connections with
The Netherlands. In the 12th century many Dutchmen settled in this entire area of low lying
marshlands. Centuries later these connections with Holland were still not broken. According to written
sources, many day-laborers of this area took time to study in the Netherlands during the 17th century.
Also, in that as well as the following centuries, many ‘Holland travelers’ went to work, as day-laborers,
in our prosperous country.
After this short historic sketch of the present municipality of Kirchweyhe, we shall now go back to the
genealogy of the family Dorgelo. It is to be noted, however, that an on the spot search presented large
problems because of the destruction of church archives in 1776, due to a fire in the presbytery during
a church service. The old church books were totally lost as well as many houses, including the home
that was formerly occupied by a Dorgeloh. Luckily, some other archive materials were saved which
can tell us more about the Dorgeloh’s at Weyhe.
The register of succession of 1585 in the village Dreye mentions 12 heads of families among who 3
so-called ‘Vollmeiers’ [‘Voll’ means ‘full’]; 3 ‘Halbmeierss’ [‘Halb’ is ‘half’]; 5 crofters and 1 drafted
farmhand. A Vollmeier was a farmer who owned a complete team of 4 horses which he used to serve
th
his lord. A Halbmeier did this with 2 horses. At least this was the rule in the 16 century. The crofters
had no horses and little or no land. They did mostly handwork. The meiers were the real farmers who
always used the oldest parcels of farmland. A Vollmeier’s farmstead in Kirchweyhe measured 62
‘morgen’, the equivalent of 16.25 hectares. A similar farm situated on lighter soil would have been
larger.
Johann Dorgelohe, of Dreye, is mentioned in the genealogical register of 1585 as one of three
Vollmeiers. His farm, like those of the other two Vollmeiers, was the property of the dome-cathedral at
Bremen. He had in use 7 plots of arable land and 14 parcels of pasture and payed a rent of 21/2
Bremer Mark; 9 bushels of oats; 6 bushels of barley and provide ‘hand and carriage services’ as well.
On top of that he had to pay to the district office at Syke 50 lbs of barley, perform manual labor and
provide a team of horses. Even though there is no definitive proof from written sources[2], nevertheless
we may assume, as explained earlier, that this Johann Dorgerlohe was a blood relative of the
Dorgelo’s who remained Roman Catholic and, like them, also came from the estate at Dorrieloh. Not
only was there a connection between Dorrieloh and Dreye via the family Von Weyhe, there was also
very little difference in Johann Dorgelohe’s social position – first as (son of the) deputy for the feudal
tenant Otto von Dorgelo at the Sattlehof in Dorrieloh and later, after 1579, as deputy for the chapter
cathedral of Bremen at the farmstead in Dreye. As well, around 1579 Heinrich von Dorgelo, son of
Otto, was canon at the St. Stephans- and Wilhads church in Bremen. Since Otto sold the estate in or
before 1578, it is chronologically understandable that the last name Dorgelohe occured only once in
the register of succession at Dreye in 1578. Yet another indication for the perceived connection
between the family Dorgelohe at Dreye and the vassal Von Dorgelo of the Sattlehof at Dorrieloh in
countship Diepholz lies in the fact that the family name Von Dorgeloh also existed in Diepholz towards
th
the end of the 16th century (then already Evangelic for some time). On March 24 , 1594 Helwich von
Dorgeloh and his wife sold land to Johann Trosting and his wife Gesche, which she wanted to use to
pay the debts of her deceased brother (possibly the father of Johann Dorgelohe in Dreye). On April 18,
1598 Harteke von Stemshorn and his wife Gertrude von Dorgeloh sold a tithes-free camp to Dietrich
Stower and his wife Wopken.[3]
The Evangelical family Dorgelohe, in the municipality of Kirchweyhe, expanded during the next
decades. From the 17th century we know: a clergyman Dargeloh at Kirchweyhe (deceased in 1637) the name now and then entered differently; and a Hinrich Dorgeloh (also written as Dargeloh), named
in a witness declaration during a process at Syke in 1652 as a cattle trader. He distilled brandy at age
57. During his youth he had worked in Bremen for 17 years and by 1652 had been an inhabitant of
Weye, also for 17 years. This Hinrich would have been a son of Johann. He is also named in the so
called “Lagerbuch” [book] of 1659 as “Brinck-sitzer” in Kirchweyhe, meaning: occupant of a house on
the village green [Brinck]. In 1692 a crofter [one who rents and works a small farm] by the name of
Heinrich Dorgeloh also lived there. The Lagerbuch of 1659 mentions as a second namesake Clausz
Dorgelohe, Vollmeier at Dreye [Vollmeier: a farmer with 4 horses]. He is most likely a (grand-) son of
afore-mentioned Johann. This farm (nr. 8) at Dreye was occupied by a widow Anna Dorgerloh for a
few years. Several other Dorgeloh’s still live today at Kirchweyhe, such as the owner of the local
Guesthouse. From 1920 to 1933 Herman Dorgelo, a crofter, was mayor of Kirchweyhe. He was
entitled, together with three namesakes, to a common pasture of 92 hectare, which was partitioned in
1952 during a re-allotment process.
In 1628 our family name occurs for the first time in the archives of the free town Bremen [‘free’: no
road-tolls exacted]. On July 21 in that year, Heinrich Dorgeloh of Kirchweyhe took the oath of citizen,
as shown in the citizen’s register of that town. It is very likely that he was the afore-mentioned Hinrich
Dorgelo who resided in Bremen from 1618 to 1635. Luder Dorgelohe, born at Dreye, did the same
thing on January 31, 1642. Johann Janszen and Andreas Dreheszen appeared as witnesses.
However, Luder Dorgelohe had already lived in Bremen in 1632 since his daughter Gretke had been
baptised there in the St. Ansgarius Church. His son Dierich Dorgeloh (father Luder, mother Metke - no
maiden name) was baptised in the St. Stephanus church on February 7, 1644. Thus, Luder would
have married around 1630.
From all this one can conclude that Hinrich and Luder, resp. from Kirchweyhe and Dreye, moved to
Bremen during the Thirty Year War (1618-1648) when the Danish king was embroiled in battles with
the German Emperor and the Catholic monarchs (there had been a Danish occupation in the
countship Hoya since 1623 and a few years later the Swedish troops arrived). These circumstances
could have promoted the migration to Bremen.
Luder Dorgeloh of Dreye is also most likely a son of Johann Dorgelohe, farmer at Dreye. His youngest
son Dierich is without doubt the same person as Dirck Durgerlo of Bremen, schoolmaster at Ancum,
municipality of Dalfsen in [the Dutch province of] Overijsel, who was a member of the Protestant
church of Dalfsen in 1679. The reasons for his emigration [to Holland] are unknown. It is likely that the
relative prosperity in The Netherlands played a roll. Bremen, being a Hanze-city [a free town, no tolls
exacted] had many trade connections with such Hanze-towns as Deventer and Zwolle in Holland. The
language would not have caused difficulties since the dialect in Overijssel had much in common with
the German dialect around Bremen.
[1]
These as well as the data that follow have been obtained from: W. Schacht, Heimatbuch der
Gemeinte Kirchweyhe, 1961 (‘Homeland’ book of the municipality of Kirchweyhe).
[2]
The registers of possessions and incomes of the chapter cathedral in Bremen were largely
destroyed during air attacks in the Second World War. The remaining archives, now in custody of the
Lower Saxon State Archives at Stade, do show however two tenant farms at Dreye but make no
mention of the feudal tenants themselves
[3]
Respectively. nr. 8 and 9 in: Regesten der Pergament- und Papierurkunden im Stadt-archiv
Diepholz. (It concerns here two notarial title deeds).
Chapter V. The Dorgelo’s in The Netherlands
The first Dorgelo in Holland, who appeared in the members’ list of the Dutch Protestant Church at
Dalfsen in 1679, was Dirck Durgerlo of Bremen (I)* [*-see bottom of page]. He became the ancestor of
the Dutch Dorgelo’s and. was teacher at Ancum where he married Lysabeth Wechmans.[1] It is
noteworthy that already in 1617 Rudolphus Dorgeloo[2] was mentioned as the third preacher of the
Dutch Protestant church of Waverveen in [the province of] Utrecht. It was his first position. In 1620 he
left for Broek in Waterland, having been called there twice[3]. He died in 1626[4]. According to the
registers of marriage and baptism of both parishes, as far as available, it is not apparent that this
preacher was married or had any descendants. His complete name was Rudolphus Johannis
Dorgeloo[5]. It is possible that he also came from Bremen after he had received his education there. A
kinship with the preacher Dargeloh at Kirchweyhe, who died in 1637, is not excluded. Nevertheless,
one can assume that the Dorgelo’s who now live in The Netherlands are descendants of Dirck
Durgerlo of Bremen, at Ancum.
At the present time, there is a village school in the hamlet Ancum, N.W. of Dalfsen. In the 17th century
this certainly would have been a so called one-man’s school. One may assume that Dirck, youngest
son of Luder Dorgelohe and baptized on February 7, 1644 at Bremen, received his education as
teacher there. For this purpose the Latin school, established at Bremen in 1528, provided an excellent
opportunity. Later, in 1584, it was provided with a so-called ‘classis publica’, or Paedagogeum. In
1610, this expanded into a Gymnasium Illustrate (a university with four faculties). By the time Bremen
had become Protestant, around 1580, many Protestant students studied there, including some from
Holland. Unfortunately, the lists of students at the Latin school and Paedagogeum of the 17th century
did not survive 17).
The number of children of Dirck D. cannot be accurately derived from the church registers at Dalfsen,
which begin in 1679. Neither is there mention of his marriage. The book of church members of 1703
mentions that the following were admitted: on 8-1-1703 Jan Berent Dorgelo (II, 1 *), “son of Derck of
Bremen” (born +/- 1682 ?); on 28-9-1703 Willem Hendrik D. (II, 2 ) (born +/- 1684 ?). Books of baptism
at Dalfsen - Ancum name also Gerrit D., 15-8 -1686, (II, 3), “(Derks), son of Dirck Durgelo, teacher at
Ancum, and Lysabeth Wechmans”; 14/18-8-1689 Elizabeth D. (II, 4) “daughter of Derck of Bremen
and Lysabeth Wegmans, teacher and his wife at Ancum”.
*) numbers between brackets ( ) refer to the section “Family Register” at the end of this document
In the next chapters, starting with this second generation, we will deal with the most important data for
each branch. References to the family register will appear between ( ) [see final section]. The data are
primarily derived from the retro-acts of the civil registers (registers of baptisms, marriages, burials) of
local parishes for the period up to 1811 and, after 1811, from the proper municipalities’ own civil
registration. Now and then there are gaps. Nevertheless the research was reasonably simple because
our family always carried a last name in contrast to most families before 1811 who knew only first
names and the name of fathers.
a. Branch to Grafhorst - Kampen
Jan Berent Dorgelo (II, 1) [Dirck Durgelo’s oldest son] married Peternella Reynts Snelle in Dalfsen, at
about 1715. From this marriage came four sons and five daughters (III, 1-9) who were baptized in the
years 1716 to 1730. Of these, two sons died at a very young age (III, 2+7). Reynier (III, 3), the oldest
[of the surviving] sons, was baptized 6-8-1719 and settled at Grafhorst in 1742 as a servant for Klaas
Visscher, cattle breeder[6]. In 1742 he was accepted, under the name “Reinhard Durillo (from
Grafhorst)”, as member of the Dutch Protestant church at IJsselmuiden, to which church region
Grafhorst belonged. In 1748, Reynier’s younger brother Jannes (III, 8) followed him to Grafhorst.
When he was 20 years old he was accepted as member of the same church in IJsselmuiden. In 1759
both brothers married the two sisters Meulenhof from Zwolle, who were maidservants at the country
home Den Ruytenberg at Dalfsen. From the marriage of Jannes, who remained at Dalfsen, only 1
daughter was born who died at two months.
Reynier D. (III, 3) is the ancestor of the Dorgelo branch in Grafhorst - Kampen. From his marriage
there were two sons and one daughter (IV, 1-3). In 1784 Reynier’s oldest son Jan. D. (IV, 1), ‘landman
below Kampen’, married Aaltje Hendriks from the Seadike near Mastenbroek. Before 1805 both had
been members of the Dutch Protestant church at Kampen. Of Reynier’s youngest son Peter (IV. 3)
nothing is known apart from the date of his baptism. This branch survived through Jan D. (IV,1) from
whose marriage at Grafhorst eight children were baptized (V, 1 - 8), among whom 5 daughters. Of the
three sons one died at a very early age. Of the first- born son, again a Peter (V, 1), only the birth date
is known. Jan D’s youngest son Reinier (V, 6) was a day-laborer at Grafhorst. In 1819 he married
Aaltje Beunink who died at Kampen in 1828. Two years later Reinier married Albertje Kanis, widow of
Hendrik Engeltjes. As far as is known, there were no children from Reinier’s first marriage. From his
second marriage three children were born in Kampen (VI, 1-3), two daughters and one son: Hendrik
Jan (VI, 2) who was a rope maker. Around 1860 he married Wilhelmina Tennekes. From this marriage
came ten children (VII, 1-10) of who three died at young age. Of the remaining seven there were two
daughters. It is known that of the five sons Reinier (VII, 1); Johan Matthijs (VII, 2); Hendrik Jan (VII, 6)
and the youngest son, Hendrikus (VII, 10) of Krommenie, were all sigar makers. The fifth son, Willem
Jan (VII, 7), was a sexton [caretaker of the church] at Kampen. In 1889
Johannes Matthijs married Annegien Brouwer. From this marriage there were 10 children (VIII, 2a-j) of
whom four died at a very young age. Under the remaining six children there was only one son,
Hendrik Jan (VIII, 2j). He lives in Kampen [at the time of researching this branch] and was a cigar
maker, like his father. From his marriage with Gerrigje van Enk (1932) there are 8 children of who one
daughter died at a very young age. Five children remain in Kampen, among whom Johannes Matthijs
(IX, 2a), metal worker; Jan (IX, 2b), mat-plaiter (both unmarried); and Wolter (IX, 2c), carpenter, who
married W.A.van der Werf. From this marriage there are 3 sons (X, 2a - c). The fourth son, Hendrik
Jan (IX, 2d), became music teacher and lives in Wapenveld. From his marriage with Barta Reuyl there
are 2 daughters (X, 2d-e).
Hendrik Jan’s (VI, 2) third son (VII, 6), who was named after his father, married Jantje Martinus in
1896. From this marriage 12 children were born (VIII, 6a - l). Of these one son died when still a baby.
Among the remaining children there were 5 sons, the oldest of whom, Abraham (VIII, 6b), was cigar
maker and married H.J.Gosselink. Their son Theodorus (IX, 6b) became cement-plaiter. From his
marriage with Willy Vinke came 3 children amongst whom 2 sons: Abraham (X, 6a) and Johannes (X,
6c).
Hendrik Jan’s (VII, 6) son Reinier (VIII, 6h), a tailor, has kept the name of the ancestor (III, 3) of the
branch in Kampen. He married Aleida Gottmerand and has 6 children, among whom 3 sons. The
oldest son is Hendrik Jan Harmen (IX, 6f), tax official at Kampen. From his marriage to Fokje Wolters
there are three children among whom one son, Reinier Johannes (X, 6e). Reinier’s son Hendrikus
Josephus Johannes (IX, 6e) is also tax official, while Reinier Seakle (IX, 6g) is geographic
draughtsman at Lelystad.
The youngest son of Hendrik Jan (VII, 6) is Wilhelmus Johannes (VIII, 6i), representative at
Veenendaal. There are three children from his marriage with Aaltje van Veenendaal, among who a
son Hendrik Jan Maarten (IX, 6j). From his marriage with Alide de Wit there is also a son, Remco
Peter (X, 6i)
The fourth son of Hendrik Jan (VI, 2) was Willem Jan (VII, 7) who was a cigar maker as well as sexton
at Kampen. There are three children (VIII, 0a - 0c) from his first marriage with Stijntje van Ogtrop. Of
these two died at a very early age. From his second marriage, with Maria van Doorn (1905), Willem
Jan had five children, among whom three sons (VIII, 0; 1a; 1b). The oldest son Hendrik Jan (VIII, 0) is
teacher at Zaandam. He married Christina Veldhuis in 1933. From this marriage there are three
children, among whom two sons (IX, 0b1+ 0c1) both of who are representatives, respectively at
Arnhem and Zaandam. Willem Jan’s second son, Jacob Herman (VIII, 1a), moved to Zaandam as
well. He is a typographer. From his marriage with Dirkje van der Weerd there are five children (IX, 1ae). The oldest son Willem Jan (IX, 1a) settled in Udenhout as metal worker. He has three children from
his marriage with Truus Willems among whom one son Jack Herman (X, 1b). Jacob Herman’s
youngest son, Jack Herman (IX, 1e), works as distiller in Zaandam. Lastly, Willem Jan’s third son (VIII,
1b), of the same name as his father, also works as typographer, but in Kampen. He married Elsje
Voerman and has three sons (IX, 1f -1h). The oldest son, Willem Jan (IX, 1f) is school principal in
Hasselt. He has collected many data regarding the Dorgelo branch at Kampen, part of which is
included in this text: He has two children from his first marriage with Lambertha M.C.van Dijk, in 1964.
His first son, Willem Jan (X, 1d), died shortly after birth. The second son, Gerrit Jan (IX, 1g), is
caretaker at Kampen. He married Antonia Beljaars in 1967 and has two children, one of whom is a
son, Willem Jan (X, 1f).The third son of Willem Jan (VIII, 1b), Marius (IX, 1h) is an assistant sales
manager in Kampen. In1947 Kampen counted 47 Dorgelo’s, the most of all Dutch municipalities.[7]
b. Branch at Dalfsen, Borne and Zwolle
Willem Hendrik Dorgelo (II, 2), Dirck Durgelo’s second son, born around 1684 at Ancum, was the
ancestor of a [second] branch whose members remained predominantly in the present municipality of
Dalfsen. Around 1719, he married Derckien Gerryds and lived in the parish of Dalfsen. He must have
died before 1745. There were six children from his marriage (III, 10 - 15), of whom two died at a young
age. Of the remaining four there were two sons and two daughters. Of the son Derck D. (III, 13) only
the date of baptism is known. From later data in baptism-, marriage-, and death books as well as
registers of inhabitants, it would appear that Derrick most likely did not continue to live in Dalfsen. He
probably moved to Emmen, below Dalfsen.
Willem Hendrik’s older son Gerrid D. (III, 12) was married three times, resp. in 1745 with Marije Snel;
in 1759, as widower, with Aatje Dirks and in 1763, again as widower, with Aaltje Gerrits of Ancum. He
continued to live in the parish where he died in 1805. In 1755 he had, from his first marriage, a son
named Jan Harmen (IV, 4) who later must have established himself as school master in Borne. His
first daughter was born there in 1789 and three years later his second daughter. He had no sons and
died in 1811. It would appear that Jan Harmen was not always at ease in the predominantly Catholic
parish of Borne. On January 8, 1796, he complained to the diet of the County Council, together with
Gerh. Meiling, organist of the Dutch Reformed church at Borne. They indicated not to have received
their yearly pay (7 hectoliter of rye) from the meiers representing a certain farm despite the fact that it
formed part of their pay. The cause of this was “those in Borne who are of Catholic persuasion had
asked the meiers to intervene and pay the same to them”.[8]
From the second marriage of Gerrid Dorgelo (III, 12) two daughters were born (IV, 5+ 6). His third
marriage resulted in no less than nine children (IV, 7-15), namely six daughters and three sons, of who
the last born died early. The oldest, son Gerrit Jan (IV, 9), has probably been married twice. The first
time, at about 1795, with Antonia van ‘t Hout. From this marriage only one daughter is known and she
died at Zwolle, in 1816. Gerrit Jan remarried in 1812 when he took Hanna Knape as his wife. From this
second marriage there were four children (V, 11-14), namely three daughters and one son Gerrit J, (V,
13) who was born in 1818. There are no further data on this son. Nevertheless, seven Dorgelo’s were
living in Zwolle in 1947.
The second son of Gerrit D. (III, 12), from his third marriage, was named Willem Hendrik (IV, 13), the
name of his grandfather. In 1798, when he was 20 years old, he married Gerritdina van Eerbeek who
originally came from Den Ham and worked at the mansion Gerner near Dalfsen. He moved to the
hamlet Emmen where he died in 1818 at the age of 40 but he was burried at Dalfsen. He left behind
his wife and one child, a son Gerrit (V, 15) who was then 20 years old. He held a job as cooper at
Dalfsen. In 1822 he married Hendriekje Mensink who was a seamstress there. Gerrit had five children
from this marriage among whom one son, Willem Hendrik (VI, 4). However, he died at a very young
age as did three of Gerrit’s daughters. With the death of Gerrit (date unknown) came the end to this
branch of the male Dorgelo’s in Dalfsen.
c. Branch at Ancum and Heemse
Gerrit Dorgelo. (II, 3), the third son of Dirck Durgelo of Bremen (1), was the forefather of most of the
Dorgelo’s living in The Netherlands. Gerrit succeeded his father as school master at Ancum. He
married Geertien Tijs, probably in 1718. From this marriage came no less than six sons (III, 16-21).
Unfortunately, the life span of the two oldest is unknown. Most likely, they were not married in Dalfsen
(not present in the Books of Marriages as of 1745), or possibly deceased at a young age. Gerri’s third
son, Jannes (III, 18), succeeded his father as school-master at Ancum in 1743 or 1742. He received a
year’s salary of 50 Dutch Guilders. In 1747 Jannes married Mattje Hendriks (Dijks),”young daughter of
‘The Hardenberg’, but last residing in the ‘Red Heart’ at Ancum”, according to the book of marriages.
The Red Heart was the inn along the Hessenweg [road] North of Ancum. Jannes had three children
(IV, 16-18) of whom the first born, a girl, would have died at a young age. The second child was a son,
Gerrit (IV, 17). In 1772 he became school master and sexton at Heemse near Hardenberg, the place
of origin of his mother. In the same year he married Anna Margaretha Raafkus, widow Warmelink, who
died at the age of 39, in 1777. In the same year Gerrit married Hilligje Veurink from Rheeze (between
Heemse and Marienberg). From the first marriage there were three children (V, 16-18) all of whom
died at a very early age. Gerrit’s second wife had eight children by him of whom two sons died in their
birth year. Two other sons (V, 22+25) survived. The other children were girls.
Gerrit Dorgelo (IV, 17) was not only the ancestor of the Dorgelo’s at Heemse, he also had a
reasonably important role locally: In 1795 he was the delegate of the Bailiff’s office in Hardenberg to
the assembly of the Provincial Representatives of the People of [the province] Overijsel. In connection
with the requisitioning of wagons and the billeting of French soldiers, Gerrit asked the provincial
meiers of the monastery Sibculo, who were always exempt from military service, whether they could
provide [horse and] wagon services. This would ease the heavy burden of the neighboring folk
considerably. Gerrit Dorgelo also made the point that Heemse was the only village in the Bailiff’s
district that was suffering from taxes and billeting, similar to the town of Hardenberg. He raised the
serious matter that the majority of the inhabitants of his municipality not only refused to take the oath
of May 22, but also forbade the minority to do so “at the explicit order of the respective peasant
counties”. This oath recognized not only the sovereignty of the people - based on the rights of man
and citizen and on freedom and equality - but also considered viceroyalty [being ruled by a viceroy deputy of a sovereign] as abolished while it maintained allegiance to the provincial government until a
national convention might decide otherwise.[9]
(Shortly before this [Dutch] text was going to print, I received data regarding the descendents of Evert
Jan (VII, 13). These are mentioned in the family register as numbers VIII, 6a-e; IX, a-e; X, a–h; XI, ac).
In 1805, Gerrit Dorgelo (IV, 17) was one of the inspectors at the court of Hardenberg. He also kept the
‘markbooks’ of the hamlet Rheeze. In 1939 these books and some others were still in the custody of
Hendrika Johanna D. (VIII, 8). Parts of the family tree had been inserted here and there in the books,
which is used here for the description of this branch of the family. In 1816 Gerritt D. (IV, 17) was
succeeded by his son Herman Jan (V, 22) as schoolmaster in Heemse. In 1821 this son married
Egbertdina Roelofs from Archem near Ommen. In turn, Herman Jan was succeded as school master
by his only son Gerrit Jan Herman (VI, 9) in 1846, the year of this son’s marriage to Hendrika Stoeten
from Rheeze. Nine children (VII, 12-20) are known from this marriage, of whom no less then eight
boys. Hermen Jan (VII, 12) was baker at Zwolle and Amsterdam. He had four sons (VIII, 3-6) of who
Hendrik (VIII, 4) was a book keeper at Amsterdam; Abraham (VIII, 5) art teacher and Herman Jan
(VIII, 6) bank clerk in Amsterdam, as was his oldest brother Gerritt Jan Hermen (VIII, 3). Of the four
brothers (VIII, 3-6) only Hendrikus (VIII, 4) has male descendants into the third degree. From his
marriage to Elizabeth Raakman two children were born, of whom one son - Hendrikus (IX, 0a) who is
architect in Rotterdam. In 1938 he married Anna Vreeswijk who had four children by him among whom
three boys (X, 0, 0a - 0c). The second, Renee Constant, is engineer. From his marriage a son was
born, Steven Martin (XI, 0).
.
The second son of Gerrit Jan Hermen Dorgelo (VI, 9) was Evert Jan (VII, 13), laborer at the farm
‘Voorzorg” in Heemstede. His brother Lubertus D. (VII, 15) was a manufacturer in Zwolle. He had a
son Willem J. (VIII, 7) who was a teacher. A younger brother of Lubertus, namely Willem Johannes D.
(VII, 16), was also a teacher, til 1921, having succeeded his father in Heemse. He was the seventh
successive Dorgelo who held the position of teacher, - starting with Dirck Durgerlo of Bremen (1) in
Ancum; and the fourth in that position in Heemse. From his marriage only one daughter is known,
Hendrika Johanna (VIII, 8). She had the family archives in her possession and lived for a long time in
Heemse and later in Ermelo. Younger brothers of Willem Johannes D. (VII, 16), the last.teacher in
Heemse, were Hermannes Hendrikus (VII, 17), farmer at Rheeze; Gerhardus Hendrikus (VII, 18);
Johannes Lambertus (VII, 19), teacher at Deventer and later in Rotterdam; and Hendrik (VII, 20) at
Nijverdal. In 1947 20 Dorgelo’s were living in Amsterdam.
Returning now to the generation of Hermen Jan D. (V, 22), we need to mention that he had one
brother, Everd (V, 25), who was a merchant and shopkeeper at Heemse. This is evident from a letter
of June 1833 to Everd from Anthony D. (V, 37), his cousin-twice-removed and clerk at the Taxation
Office in Haaksbergen, concerning a claim of 10 Dutch Guilders and 75 cents in favour of Everd. This
letter also mentions the expected appointment of Everd as lieutenant in the “Landstorm’ [storm troops].
From Everd’s marriage there are at least four sons, of whom two sons died in the years of their birth,
and one daughter (VI, 10-12). Son Gerrit (VI, 12) together with his sister lived in a café at Heemse. It is
possible that the Dorgelo’s, who at the present time live on a farm and have a café in Schoonebeek
[province of Drenthe], stem from this branch of the family at Heemse. In 1947 there were no less than
37 Dorgelo namesakes in the municipality of Hardenberg and 21 in Schoonebeek.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that Jannes D. (III, 18), the third teacher at Ancum, not only had a son
Gerrit (IV, 17) but also a daughter Grietje (IV, 18). She married her cousin Jan Dorgelo (IV, 25a) in
approximately 1789 and lived first at the Wachteveld near the Rozengaarder Gate near Ancum and
thereafter at the Pakop, also at the Rozengaarder
Gate. Her husband was a farm worker there. It is known that from this marriage there were two
children who died soon after birth and a son Gerrit Jan (V, 28). By lot he remained free from military
service in 1826. At that time he lived at the latter farm in Ancum, together with his father and his wife
Janna Hoogenkamp who he had married in1822. From this marriage six children were born (VI, 13-18)
among whom two sons. The first son Jan (VI, 13) died at age 3. Gerrit Jan’s second son, also Gerrit
Jan (VI, 16) followed in his father’s footsteps as farm worker. I have no knowledge about possible
descendants of Gerrit Jan. In 1947 the municipality of Dalfsen counted only four Dorgelo’s among its
inhabitants.
d. Branch at Ancum.
The fourth son of Gerrit D. (II, 3) was probably Gerrit Hans Thijs D. (III, 19). His year of baptism is not
known. He appears on the list of inhabitants of Ancum of 1748 as husband of Margien Jansen with
three live-in children under 10 of whom very little is known. One of them was Jan Tijsen D. (IV, 19). In
1780 he married the widow Janna Janssen of the Gerner estate in the present municipality of Dalfsen.
His wife died early, in 1788. At that time Jan Tijsen D. lived at Ancum. He remarried Grietje Peters in
1789. From his first marriage only two daughters (V, 29-30) are known. Therefore, this branch became
extinct with Jan Tijssen.
e. Branch via Raalte to Dedemsvaart.
Jan Gerrits D. (III, 20), the fifth son of Gerrit D. (II, 3), is certainly important in genealogical terms. He
is the ancestor of a branch via Raalte to Haaksbergen and of a branch to Dedemsvaart. In 1750 Jan
Gerrits D. married Ida Janssen, widow of Jan Janssen. According to the 1748 register of inhabitants of
Ancum, Jan Jansen was still alive at that time and had two sons older than 10. Jan Gerrits D. also had
two sons (IV, 20-21). Of the second son, Jannes (IV, 21) only the date of baptism is known, in contrast
to the first son Gerrit Jan D. (IV, 20) who married Janna Pastmans of Ancum in 1780. From this
marriage there are eight children, namely four daughters and four sons. The first child was born at
Ancum in 1781, the others after 1783 in the church village of Raalte. From this follows that Gerrit Jan
moved his family, at about 1782, from Ancum to Raalte. He settled on the small farm ‘under the
Vellener on the Marssebelts’, as is noted in most registrations of baptism. This ‘katerstead’ [farm
without horses] is at present (1972) still visible, albeit rebuilt, near the estate Den Vellener, about 5 km
south of Heino close to the Nijenhuis. In 1876 the little farm was bought by Mannes Grootenhuis.
Today the Marssebelt is situated just within the municipality of Raalte, house nr. F100 and occupied by
the widow Grootenhuis and her daughter who is married to Mr. Winkelboer.
Of Gerrit Jan’s (IV, 20) eight children (V, 31-38), seven were born at the Marssebelt. His second son
Willem (V, 34) is registered incorrectly as “son of Willem Doorbroek and Janna Pastmans”. Actually,
nothing is known of him other than his birth date of September 2, 1787. Gerrit Jan’s third son Antony
(V, 37) established himself at Haaksbergen. This branch of the Dorgelo family will be dealt with in
section f. below
The first and fourth son, resp. Jan D. (V, 33) and Gerrit D. (V, 38), both peat-diggers, settled along the
Dedemsvaart [canal], in the municipality of Avereest. When he lived in Deventer, Jan D. married
Gerredina Kamerman in 1814. From this marriage there are four sons (VI, 19-22). The oldest, Gerrit
Jan D. (VI, 19), was born in Ommen. At age 22 he married Fennigjen (Jacobs) Kruger, born at
Veldhuizen (Bentheim). Neither the bride nor her parents were able to write, according to the
announcement of marriage. They had no less than eleven children (VII, 21-31), of whom six sons.
Gerrit Jan’s first son, Jan (VII, 21), went to live in the Krim (near [the town] Dedemsvaart) and married
Geertje Koop. From this marriage there is a son, Jacobus D., born in 1896, who is a painter in
Hengelo. He married in 1921. Gerrit Jan’s second son Jacobus D. (VII, 22) died in 1865 at a young
age of 24. The third son Gerrit D. (VII, 23) married Johanna Meyer from Nijverdal and died in 1879 at
the age of 36. Descendants of Jacobus and Gerrit are unknown, as is the case with the fourth son,
Gerhardus D. (VII, 24) who died at Nijverdal in 1876, at age 31. The fifth son, Johannis (VII, 27) died
at a very early age in Dedemsvaart. The sixth son Johannis (VII, 31) died in 1878, at age 18.
The second son of Jan D. (V, 33) was Mannes D. (VI, 20) who married Aleida Bruin Slot in 1843. They
had seven children (VII, 32-38) among whom only one daughter.
The oldest son Jan D. (VII, 32) was a baker in De Krim and married to Jentje Horstra. I have no
knowledge of their children. This J. Dorgelo was honorary chairman of the Building Commission of the
Dutch Protestant Church at De Krim. The first stone for the building of that church was laid a few
months before his death in 1911.
Mannes’ second son was Johannes D. (VII, 33). In 1880 he married Nelligje Steenbergen who gave
him four children among whom three sons (VIII, 9-11), namely Willem (VIII, 9a, who died at a young
age); Mannes (VIII, 10) and Johannes (VIII, 11).
The former [Mannes (VIII, 10)] was shop keeper at De Krim and married Petronella Horstra, in 1909.
From this marriage there are eight children (IX, 1-7), among whom four sons. The oldest son,
Johannes (IX, 1), was a baker who married Jansje Konijnebelt in 1938. From this marriage two
children were born (X, 1-2) among whom one son Hermannes Johannes, born 30-12-1944 [during the
Second World War]. Six weeks earlier, on 15-11-1944, his father had died in the [Nazi] concentration
camp Neuengamme. Hermannes Johannes has two children (XI, 1-2), of who one is a son.
The second son of Mannes (VIII, 10) is Egbertus (IX, 2) who is a shopkeeper. In 1934 he married
Gerritdina Konijnebelt. Of this marriage only one son is known, Mannes (X, 3) who was born in 1935.
He has at least one son (XI, 3).
The third son of Mannes D. (VIII, 10) is Jacob (IX, 6) who, it seems, followed in his father’s footsteps
as storekeeper in De Krim. In 1947 he married Roelofje Steenbergen. From this marriage three sons
were born (X, 4-6).
The fourth son of Mannes (VIII, 10) is Willem (IX, 7). He is a chief mechanic, married Hendrika Brunink
in 1947 and, after her death, Alida Trijntje Dorgelo (IX, 28) in 1953. From the first marriage there are
two sons (X, 7-8); from the second marriage there are two daughters and one son (X, 9-10). Willem’s
oldest son Hermannes Johannes is father of one son (XI, 4).
We return now to the third son of Johannes D. (VII, 33), again a Johannes (VIII, 11) who settled in
Antwerp as technical employee of the Bell Telephone Co. He married in 1920 and had three
daughters (IX, 8-10).
Afore mentioned Mannes D. (VI, 20) had a third son, Gerrit, (VII, 34) who lived in Hoogeveen and
probably died childless.
Mannes’ fourth son Pieter (VII, 35) was a peat digger as well as shop and pub keeper in Lutten (De
Krim). He had ten children (VIII, 12-16) among whom eight sons, four of whom died at an early age,
however. Jan (VIII, 13) born in 1875, was a baker in Vroomshoop. He had two daughters and died in
1971 at age 96. Jan’s younger brother Albertus (VIII, 14), who did not get older than 31, had four
children (IX, 10c-f) among whom three sons. The oldest was Pieter (IX, 10c) who lived in Enschede
and had five children (X, 10a -e) among whom two sons. Of them the oldest goes again by the name
Albertus (X, 10a) and lives in Almelo. He has one daughter and two sons. His brother Engbert Hendrik
(X, 10c) lives in Apeldoorn and has two daughters. Albertus’ second son Engbert (IX, 10d) died
unmarried in 1928. His third son Johannes Berendinus (IX, 10e) was tax official and lives in Veendam.
His son Engbert (X, 10g) works as a building expert, also in Veendam. He has three children (XI, 10 12) among whom two sons.
The third son of Pieter (VII, 35) was Herman (VIII, 14a), who was bookkeeper in Vroomshoop.
Althouigh he was married twice, he died childless in 1957.
Pieter’s fourth son is again a Jan (VIII, 15) who was also a baker like his oldest brother. He is
presently (1973) still alive and lives in Assen, at age 90. His bakery passed to his oldest son Pieter (IX,
10g) who has no children. Jan’s second son, Frederik (IX, 10h) was principal of a school in Hilversum
and has gathered many data about his grandfather and his grandfather’s progeny. Frederik has two
daughters. His younger brother Berend Jan (IX, 10j) also has two daughters.
Returning now to Mannes D. (VI, 20) we come to his fifth son Hermannus (VII, 36) who was also a
peat digger as well as a meal merchant and storekeeper. In 1879 he married Hillegonda Scholten.
From this marriage came four sons of whom one died shortly after birth. The oldest son Hermannus
Hendrikus (VIII, 17) was a parson of the Protestant Church in Naarden. He died in 1944. From his
marriage with Johanna Beil there are three sons (IX, 11-13). The first of these, Alexander, architect in
Bussum, has done a great deal of work putting together the genealogical registry [attached to this
‘History of the Dorgelo Family’] and the family tree From his marriage to Martine Dirkzwager there are
two children of whom one is a son, Maarten Arthur, lawyer (X, 11). The second son of Hermannus
Hendrikus is Henny Andreas (IX, 12), sales manager in Curacao. From his marriage to Nannan den
Oude two daughters. Hermannus Hendrikus’ third son Gerhard Herman (‘Hans’), (IX, 13) moved in
1952 to Canada where he became an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Vancouver, Canada
[translator of the Dutch text into this English on-line format]. From his marriage to Maria Wiersma: four
children (X, 15-18) of whom three sons: Clifford John (X, 15), who died at age 18; Harold Roy (X, 16),
who runs a forestry office, and Eric Glenn (X, 17), manager of a software company.
The second son of Hermannus D. (VII, 36) was Alexander (VIII, 18), a teacher, who remained
unmarried and died in 1914. Hermannus’ fourth son Hendrik Berend (VIII, 19) was Professor at the
Technical University in Delft and later Vice-Chancellor of the University at Eindhoven. From his
marriage with Herna Plomp there are seven children, among whom three sons. The oldest, Cornelis
Hendrik (IX, 15), is engineer at Shell. Of his two children (X, 19-20) there is one son. The second son
of Hendrik Berend is Alexander Hendrik (IX, 17) who is marketing manager. He has three children (X,
21-23) among whom one son. The youngest son of Hendrik Berend is Herman (IX, 18), an engineer at
Philips. He has three children (X, 24-24b) among whom two sons.
Finally we come to the sixth son of Mannes D. (VI, 20), Albertus (VII, 37) who married Aaltje
Schutterop but died in 1923. He had eight children, four daughters and four sons (VIII, 20–25) of
whom one son and one daughter died at an early age. The first son Jacob (VIII, 22) was school
principal in Hengelo in [province of] Gelderland and was twice married, namely with Grietje van der
Meer and M.B.H. Jaeger. He had five children (IX, 21-25) among whom two sons. The first one died at
a young age; the second is Tjeerd Hans (IX, 23) who is a forester in Tasmania, Australia. He has four
children (X, 25a-d) among whom two sons.
Albertus’ second son was Hermannus (VIII, 23), shopkeeper in Dedemsvaart and married to Albertje
Kooy. From this marriage four children were born (IX, 26-29) of whom two sons. Albertus (IX, 26) is
confectioner in Dedemsvaart. From his marriage with Johanna van Keulen there are five children (X,
26-30). His daughter Ada Gretha, student at Amsterdam, has given much of her time to making our
family tree and genealogical register ready for printing. Her brother Herman (X, 28) works in the store
of his father as confectioner. Lubertus (X, 29) is a student at the Academy of Pedagogy in Meppel.
The second son of Hermannus (VIII, 23) is Jan Heman (IX, 27), a clergyman in Oost-Souburg. He is
married to Jeltje Jeanette van Hilten and has two daughters.
The third son of Albertus (VII, 37) was Gerrit (VIII, 24). Like his older brother, he was principal of a
Christian school, most recently in Abbenes (municipality of Haarlemmermeer). He was married twice,
first with Neeltje Andriessanna de Jong, and then with Grietje de Jong. From the first marriage there is
one son, from the second two sons (IX, 29a–c). The youngest, Gerrit (IX, 29c) has two sons (X, 32cd). With this we have come to the end of the description of the successors of Mannes (VI, 20), son of
Jan (V, 33).
Last-named [V, 33] had a third son Lambertus Johannes (Jan) (VI, 21) about whose possible
descendants nothing is known. In contrast, we know that the fourth son of Jan D. (V, 33), namely
Willem (VI, 22), was a skipper and later store owner. In 1846 he married Grietje van Blanken, daughter
of a warden at the institute ‘Ommerschans’ of the Charity Society. There were five children (VII, 39–
43) of whom three sons. The first son, Lambertus Johannes (VII, 40), born 17-6-1852 in Lutten ‘on the
Dedemsvaart’ (municipality Hardenberg) was a skipper like his father. He married a skipper’s daughter
Hilligje Peggeman who had eight children by him (VIII, 26-33) among whom four sons. We only have a
few data about their son Willem (VIII, 31). He was born in Zwolle on 11-1-1891 and became a
contractor at De Krim. From his marriage with Jantje Boetz of Groningen a son was born, Lambertus
Johannes, who emigrated to Canada. As to the second son of Willem (VI, 22), Johannes (VII, 41), all
that is known is that he was a café keeper. The third son, Willem (VII, 42), was a baker and miller who
married Trijn Lutterhartje in Oud Schoonebeek. This Willem may well be the ancestor of the present
Dorgelo’s in Schoonebeek. With the inclusion of him we have discussed all descendants of Jan D. (V,
33), at least the male descendants as far as they are known to us.
As noted earlier, however, the branch to Raalte and Dedemsvaart has also been formed in part by Jan
D’s younger brother Gerrit (V, 38). This Gerrit settled along the Dedemsvaart [canal] as peat digger.
He married twice. From his second marriage, with Hillegonda Noordhuis, there are four sons (VI, 3336) of whom the second died at a very young age. The oldest, born in 1830, was most likely Wessel
(VI, 33). He was baker in Zwolle. The third son, Gerrit (VI, 35), was fen-boss and baker. The fourth
son, Willem (VI, 36), born 23-5-1842, was skipper and store keeper in De Krim. Nothing is known of
the descendants of these three brothers.
From the preceding it is apparent that the construction of the Dedemsvaart canal [by hand, cart and
horse] (1809-1852), and the peat digging in the adjacent peat-moor district, formed an attraction for
some Dorgelo’s. A number of them have lived or still do live in this area as peat digger, agricultural
laborer, store keeper, baker and skipper. The village of Dedemsvaart is situated in the municipality of
Avereest; the peat colony De Krim in the municipalities of Gramsbergen and Hardenberg; and De
Lutten in the municipality Hardenberg. By 1947, respectively 5, 14 and 37 Dorgelo namesakes lived in
these three municipalities.
f. Branch via Raalte to Haaksbergen
As was noted in the beginning of the previous chapter, a third son of Gerrit Jan D. (IV, 20), Antony D.
(V, 37), was born at that small farm close to Den Vellener, near Raalte. This son settled in
Haaksbergen after he had become a commissioner at the Tax Department (Section Import Duties) at
that municipality. He was the heir of the so-called Haaksbergense branch. He married Anna Elisabeth
Kelder from Sibculo (municipality Den Ham) where their first son, Willem Jan (VI, 23), was born. It’s
possible that he was a painter. Other than his birth date, nothing further is known about him. In total,
Antony had ten children (VI, 23-32) of whom all other nine were born in Haaksbergen. Among these
were four sons.
Antony’s second son Alexander (VI, 28) worked, like his father, in the Tax Department, successively in
Enschede, Den Ham, Hardenberg, Glanerbrug and Haaksbergen. From his second marriage, with
Aleida Flim, five children were born, all sons (VII, 44–48).The oldest son, once more Alexander, born
in Enschede, was adjutant in the Royal Army, most recently in Leeuwarden. From his marriage with
Johanna Zirschky eight children were born (VIII, 33a-h), among whom two sons, the youngest of
whom died at a young age. The oldest son, also Alexander (VIII, 33b) was, like his father, adjutant in
the Royal Air Force in Leeuwarden. He married Helena Catharina Suurmeyer and had two sons (IX,
29d+e). The oldest, again Alexander (IX, 29d) is, like his brother, paperware manufacturer in Gouda.
First-named took care of the printing of this manuscript. In 1932 he married Wilhelmina van der Vlis.
From this marriage three sons were born (X, 32e-g) of whom the oldest son, Alexander, is textile
merchant in Gouda. The two other sons, Jan and Hans, work in the business of their father. Jan has a
daughter from his marriage with G.de Vos and Hans, married to A.de Rooy, is the father of a son
Alexander (XI, 14).
Returning to Alexander (VI, 28), we may assume that his second son, Johan Hendrik (VII, 45), died at
a young age. The third son of Alexander (VI, 28) was called Johannes Idarus (VII, 46). He was the
third generation being employed at the Tax Department. In 1887 he married Geertruida Willemina
Toebes at Winterswijk where he worked as a civil servant at the import duty office. From his marriage
seven children were born (VIII, 34-40), of whom five sons. The oldest, Alexander, was art teacher at
Deventer. He died childless. The second son of Johannes Idarus D. was Jan Derk (VIII, 36) teacher in
botany and zoology. He died at Soerabaja [Indonesia] in1925 and left behind two children among
whom one son Jan Derk (IX, 30b), engineer in agriculture in Oestgeest and writer of this genealogical
survey. He has three daughters. The third son of Johannes Idarus (VII, 46) is Willem Frederick who
lives in Alkmaar and is a teacher of botany and agriculture. His son Alexander (IX, 31a), lawyer, also
at Alkmaar, has two children among whom one son, Alexander. The fourth son of Johannes Idarus
(VII, 46) again named Johannes Idarus D., (VIII, 38), is head clerk at The Hague. He has one son,
also Johannes Idarus D. (IX, 31b) who is Director of Siemens in Wassenaar.
Lastly, the fifth son of Johannes Idarus (VII, 46) is Eduard Gerhardus (VIII, 40), engineer at Philips
Industries. He has one daughter and one son, Jan (IX, 32), who is employed as biologist in France.
Returning to the seventh generation of this branch we note the fourth son of Alexander (VI, 28) named
Eduard (VII, 47) who died in 1884 at the age of 22. The fifth son of Alexander was Willem Frederick
(VII, 48), school principal at Rekken and later at Leimuiden. He had four children (VIII, 41–44) among
whom two sons. Of both sons (living at Amsterdam?) only the names are known [Herman Hendrik and
Alexander].
Finally, we still need to mention that Antony (V, 37), had three more sons apart from Willem Jan (VI,
23) and Alexander (VI, 28). They were, respectively, Isidorus Theodorus (VI, 30), smith in
Haaksbergen who remained unmarried; Gerhardus Johannes (VI, 31), joiner at Nijverdal; and a son
who died at a young age. Gerhardus had four children (VII, 48a-d) among whom one son Albertus
Johannes who was a painter in Enschede. There are two sons known from his marriage (VIII, 44a+b).
Gerhardus Albertus was inspector for the town of Enschede. His son Albertus Johannes Gerhardus is
engineer and lives in Putte in [the province of] Noord Brabant. [No data on other son, VIII, 44b]
g. Branch to Heino
The last branch of the Dorgelo’s in The Netherlands, which we will describe now, goes back to the
sixth son of Gerrit Derks D. (II, 3), Gerrit D. (III, 21), school master at Ancum. This sixth son is named
in the register of baptisms as ‘Gerrijd’, son of ‘Gerrijd Derks d’Orgelo’, baptised on 10-9-1730. In 1754
he married Janna Janssen Wachtevelds of Ancum. From this marriage there were eight children
among whom three twins and six sons (IV, 22-26a). It can be deducted from the given names that the
three first-born sons died at an early age. The fourth son, Jan (IV, 25a), farmhand at Ancum, married
his niece Grietje Dorgelo (IV, 18), as noted earlier near the end of section c.
Of the third set of twins two boys were born in 1766 (IV, 26+26a). Of these, Gerrit Jan married Antonia
van ‘t Hout. From this marriage only one daughter is known. Gerrit Jan’s twin brother, Gerardus (IV,
26a) is the ancestor of the branch at Heino, In 1796 he married Maria Egberts at the farm ‘the Bartels’
in the Liederbroek near Heino. He was a farmhand at that farm. From this marriage seven children
were born (V, 39-45) of who five sons. One son died shortly after birth. The oldest son Jan (V, 39)
married Gerrigje Holtrust of Raalte in 1825, at Zwolle. Of this marriage four children are known, three
daughters and one son (VI, 37-40). The first child, a daughter, was born in Heino; the second child,
Jan (VI, 38), at Zwolle and the two other daughters in Emmen. Jan D. (VI, 38) married Geertje
Huisman. Of this marriage only one son is known to us, namely Jan (VII, 49). He could have been
born in 1869 at Dalmsholte near Zwolle and might have lived in Deventer and Germany.
Returning now to the other sons of Gerhardus D. (IV, 26a) we name next Hermannes (V, 41) who
married Margje van der Laan in 1830. He was a farmhand at Wythmen, municipality of Zwollerkerspel.
From his marriage five children were born (VI, 41-45) among whom only one son Gerrit Jan (VI, 42)
who died at age two, causing this branch to die out. In 1947 two namesakes D. lived in Zwollerkerspel
who must, therefore, be descendants of another branch.
Of the fourth son of Gerardus D., Gerrit Jan (V, 43), only the birthdate (21-5-1804) is known. We were
unable to persue his life history any further.
Lastly, the fifth son Willem (V, 44) was a farmhand at first and thereafter became a farmer himself. In
1834 he was registered for the National Militia but did not serve as he ‘drew a lucky number’ [was
exempt from militairy duty]. That same year he married Hendrika Hendriks of Wijhe. From this
marriage there were five children (VI, 46-50), four sons and one daughter. The first born son, Echbert
(VI, 46) most likely died at the early age of six. The second son, Hermannes (VI, 47) was a farmhand
at Heino in the Lierderbroek. He married Hendrikje Dekker. From this marriage eight children were
born (VII, 49a-56) among whom only two sons: Gerhardus (VII, 50) and Hermannes (VII, 55), born 102-1885. Nothing is known to us about their descendants.
The third son of Willem D. (V, 44) was Gerhardus (VI, 48). He settled in Zwolle as a coachman and
later lived in The Hague. He had seven children among whom five sons (VII, 57-63). The oldest son
Leonardus Hendricus (VII, 57) had three children, all boys, of whom we know only their names [in the
attached ‘Register of Family Names’ noted as VIII, 45-47]. The next son, Gerhardus (VII, 58), carried
the name of his father. From his marriage there are three children (VIII, 48-50), among whom two sons
[VIII, 48-50]. The third son of Gerhardus D. (VI, 48) was Johan Jozef (VII, 60) who had two children
(VIII, 51-52) from his marriage, both girls. The fourth son of Gerhardus was Hendrik (VII, 61), born at
The Hague on 10-2-1880. He later lived at Vorst in Belgium (Brabant). He died in 1961 without
descendants. Finally, the fifth son of Gerhardus D. (VI, 48) was Herman (VII, 63). From his marriage a
daughter is known, Johanna Christina (VIII, 53), born at The Hague, now living in Amstelveen where
she is employed by KLM Dutch Airlines as a directors’ secretary.
Returning to the fourth son of Willem D, (V, 44), namely Egbert (VI, 50) born in 1843, we established
that he continued to live at the parental farm ‘the Bartels’ in Heino, as a farmhand. He married
Harmina Laarbroek by whom he had four children (VII, 64-67). Among these were two sons, namely
Theunis (VII, 65), born 15-9-1875, and Jan (VII, 67), born in 1883, also at ‘the Bartels’. From the
marriage of the last named there are two sons, Egbert and Hermannes (VIII, 54-55), both of whom
were farmers at Heino a few years ago.
[1]
Data provided by the [Dutch] Government Archives for Overijsel in Zwolle.
Register of names of clergyman of the Lower German Dutch-Reformed parish of Waverveen, 15921795. #3.
[3]
Register of clergymen, elders and deacons, idem, 1592-1745.
[4]
Melchior Veeris, Ecclesiastical alphabet, pg.43, Amsterdam 1711.
[2]
[5]
Th.O. Achelis and A. Botzler, Die Matrikel des Gymnasiums Illustre zu Bremen, 1610-1810, in:
Bremisches Jahrbuch [yearbook], zweiter series, teil III, Bremen, 1968
[6]
Registers of inhabitants of Grafhost, 1744-’48.
[7]
Dutch Repertoire of Family names, part VI (Overijsel), Commission
for the Study of Names at the Royal Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam 1968.
[8]
Joh. Theunisz, Overijssel in 1795, publ. 1943, pg. 174
[9]
Joh. Theunisz., pg 83, 86, 132 and foll.
Summary
In this study concerning the genealogical history of the family Dorgelo, attention is paid first of all to the
meaning of the name. This is derived from the place-name Dorrieloh (today’s spelling), the name of a
predominantly agrarian village, and from the rural municipality of the same name in the county of
Diepholz in Lower Saxony, about 60 km south of [the harbor city] Bremen [in NW.Germany] and a few
kilometers south of Bundes strasse[street] 32, Diepholz-Sulingen. According to German sources the
village name is derived from the first-name Dorrie and the suffix -loh (‘woods’) [or opening in the
woods], meaning in fact: the woods of Dorrie.
The family name Dorgelo, Von Dorgelo, Von Doringelo, Doringlo, Dorgeloh, appears in German
sources for the first time in 1381, in the written form of Von Doringelo. This concerns a member of
‘landed’ [owning land] nobility with land holdings [family estate} in the village Dorrieloh (presently a
large farm). Over the centuries this branch expanded itself quite significantly in north- and
southwestern directions. It owned land in the grand duchy of Oldenburg; in Munster and in the
principality of Osnabruck. Members of this family, which remained Roman Catholic, held various
important positions in public administration and in the R.C. church, into the nineteenth century. Around
1578, after the Church Reformation, the last Roman Catholic feudal tenant Von Dorgelo sold the
landholdings at Dorrieloh. By then, the county Diepholz had been ‘Evangelic’ [Orthodox Protestant] for
some time.
In the register of heirs of 1585 of the district Syke, in the county of Hoya, south of Bremen, one finds
for the first time the civil [non-ecclasiastical] family name Dorgelohe as the last name of a farm hand at
a fairly large farm in Dreye (part of the present municipality of Kirchweye) along the [river] Weser”.
Having described in chapters II and III the genealogical history of the R.C. branch in Germany, chapter
IV contains all the facts about the Evangelical [Orthodox Protestant] branch which we were able to
gather from German sources. It is shown, on the basis of a number of arguments, that a genealogical
connection between both branches is very likely.
A descendant of the farmer’s family at Dreye established himself in Bremen in the 17th century. His
youngest son Dierich Dorgeloh emigrated to the Netherlands. In 1679 he appears for the first time as
“Dirck Durgerlo of Bremen, teacher at Ancum” in the register of members of the Dutch ‘Hervormde’
Church at Dalfsen in Overijsel He was the ancestor of the later Dorgelo’s in the Netherlands.
The last chapter [‘Appendix’] contains the names of all known male namesakes in the Netherlands
th
th
carrying the last name Dorgelo [listed and numbered by generation] from the 17 to 20 century.
On the basis of areas of concentration at that time [in the mid-Eastern part of Holland, namely the
th
province of Overijsel], a distinction is made between the following family branches [from the late 17
century until the first Dutch publication of this “Genealogical History of the Family Dorgelo” in the late
th
20 century]: a. to Grafhost-Kampen (still existent) – page 17;
b. to Dalfsen, Borne and Zwolle (still existent in last named municipality) - page 19;
c. at Ancum and Heemse (municipality of Hardenberg) (possibly still existent at Dalfsen;
in any case: many descendants in Hardenberg and a few in Amsterdam) - page 20;
d. at Ancum (extinct) - page 22;
e. via Raalte to Dedemsvaart (municipality of Avereest) (among others still existent in
De Krim, Gramsbergen and Hardenberg, Assen, Den Ham, Schoonebeek and in the
west of the country) – page 22;
f. Via Raalten to Haaksbergen (among others still in existence in Enschede and in the
West of the country) – page 26;
g. To Heino (still existent there; also descendants in the West of the country) – pg.27
As is evident from the text, the Genealogical History of the Family Dorgelo in the Netherlands contains
in a few places some gaps and possibly incorrect data. For this reason we would be happy to receive
from namesakes, near or far away, any supplemental data.